See the Photos

Winners

In this month's Around the Kitchen Table, Marci Konecny won a copy of Too Hot to Handle, a Fiona Silk Mystery by Mary Jane Maffini

Deb Forbes is the winner of the Mystery Lovers Kitchen tote bag from this month's Around the Kitchen Table

Congratulations to Autumn Trapani who won a copy of Mary Jane Maffini's TOO HOT TO HANDLE, a Fiona Silk Mystery.

Congratulations to Sharon F, who won a copy of For Cheddar or Worse, A Cheese Shop Mystery.

Congratulations to Marilyn, who has won a copy of Rhys Bowen's ON HER MAJESTY'S FRIGHTFULLY SECRET SERVICE!

Congratulations to MamaHen who won a choice of book from Daryl Wood Gerber aka Avery Aames.

Congratulations to our 7th Anniversary Photo Contest Winners: Jennifer M, Jana B, Erika L, Nancy S, and Lorraine A! Thanks to ALL for participating. What a blast!!! Here's to lots more years for the MLK gang.

Congratulations to Margo B.and Becky (at) Becky's Place who won gift cards for commenting on blogger Cozy Up with Kathy (Kaminski's) guest post.

Congratulations to 33Wynter who has won a copy of SOWED TO DEATH by Peg Cochran.Congratulations to Diane H. (profhollister at gmail dot com) who has won a copy of SOWED TO DEATH by Peg Cochran.Congratulations to Kelly Braun (Gaelicark at yahoo dot com) who has won a copy of No Farm, No Foul by Peg Cochran!Congratulations to Pat D.patdupuy(at)yahoo who has won a copy of SOWED TO DEATH by Peg Cochran

Congratulations to Judy Weaver, who's won a copy of KALE TO THE QUEEN by Nell Hampton (who is also Nancy Parra)!

Friday, August 26, 2016

On paper my sister and I own a plantation in Cuba—69 acres on the Isle of Pines (renamed by Fidel Castro as Isla de la Juventud). I even have the deeds. In reality, we’re probably never going to get it back, but now that travel to Cuba is loosening up a bit, we might get to see it someday.

There is, of course, a whole history behind this. My grandparents got married in 1921, at my great-grandmother’s house in New Jersey. My grandmother was an orphan; my grandfather was only twenty and had no marketable skills. Since my great-grandparents had vacationed in Havana more than once, as early as 1914, and the island seemed to be something of an American expatriate colony, my widowed great-grandmother thought it would be a peachy idea to buy a plantation in Cuba and have her darling son manage it.

My grandparents took off for Cuba, where they spent their winters for several years, starting in 1923 (according to ships records). The idyllic plantation life ended with the hurricane of 1928, which pretty much demolished the house on the property. They didn’t return. Yet they held on to the property. My grandfather even went back to check on things in 1940, and they kept the taxes paid up.

I wish I could say my grandmother passed on a wealth of Cuban dishes, but she never really cooked, and the only one that comes close is arroz con pollo, which my mother used to make.

The first mystery item to appear:a very dry horseradish root. Iwouldn't eat it, but it looksfascinating.

But for some mysterious reason my local market (Hannaford’s) has suddenly started importing increasingly exotic products, particularly vegetables, and this past week I first met the boniato, also known as the batata—and also known as the Cuban potato. Being in a giddy mood, I bought the largest, ugliest one they had.

Meet the boniato. This one weighs nearlytwo pounds.

In simplest terms, it’s kind of a sweet potato. But the flavor is less sweet than the variety we know—one source likened its flavor to freshly roasted chestnuts. You can cook it like a potato, but peel it first, and use it shortly after peeling (because if you don’t put it in water fast, it turns really ugly, kind of like it has green leprosy).

I found an online recipe for Boniato Gratin that sounded promising, so here we go, plunging into the unknown!

Bring water to a boil in a large saucepan and add salt. Add the boniato pieces and boil until tender, 6-8 minutes. Drain, then return to the pan.

Cooked

Mashed (roughly)

Mash with a potato masher. Add the cream, stock, salt and pepper and taste for seasoning—it shouldn’t be bland. If it’s too thick, add some more stock.

Preheat the oven to 400 degrees F. Butter an 8-inch gratin pan and spoon in the mixture. Sprinkle with the bread crumbs or panko and dot with butter. Bake in the preheated oven for 20-25 minutes, until the top is browned. Serve immediately.

The results?

--Raw, these babies are definitely harder and dryer than the potatoes we’re used to (and a pain to cut into small pieces), but they soften quickly in cooking.

--They’re also hard to peel. If you ever try to peel a boniato, pick the smoothest ones you can find.

--The flavor is faintly and pleasantly sweet. I’ve read that they come in a range of flavors.

--The texture is more like a russet potato than a waxy potato.

It was an interesting experiment. Would I cook them again? I might. But next I want to try yucca, which appeared at the same time at the market. (And maybe buy a Cuban cookbook!)

Lucy/Roberta—feel free to tell me I’m way off base about Cuban cooking. I’ll be happy to go check it out personally!

Who has visited Cuba? Who wants to go?

My next book, Seeds of Deception, will appear in October. Nothing Cuban about it--Meg and Seth get as far south as Virginia and spend most of the book in New Jersey. I thought I should get them out of Massachusetts for their honeymoon.